


There's no Better Place

by TwistAndShout



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-14 12:32:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3410750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwistAndShout/pseuds/TwistAndShout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The lucky item for Scorpio is "somebody born under the Cancer sign". Takao plans to take full advantage of that fact.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There's no Better Place

**Author's Note:**

> Back in January, the stars aligned and Oha Asa finally [gave Takao an excuse to bother Midorima](http://oha--asa.tumblr.com/post/107162615043/january-5-2015) beyond the usual. Of course, "bothering" for them is code for flirting.
> 
> Also helpful for this fic is [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqCXRVuT83A) of the roller coaster they ride.

Takao had never heard of Oha-Asa until Midorima Shintarou had come barging into his life. Along with changing his ultimate goal from defeating him as a rival to finding victory together, Midorima had brought with him many hours of post-practice practice, extra leg training in the shape of a bike and a cart, and a never-ending supply of dolls, phone-charms, hats, and sometimes, large pottery. Before Shin-chan made him learn everything about them by osmosis, horoscopes had been something Takao had only been vaguely aware of. 

Midorima could be an eccentric individual, and while Takao didn't mind indulging most of his habits, he always made sure that Oha-Asa didn't become an overwhelming presence in his life. Sure, it was important to know whether he would have to lug around some sort of giant lucky item any given day; and sometimes it was good to get most of the laughter over the silly lucky item of the day out before he met Shin-chan in the morning. Takao was especially grateful that he sometimes got to see Midorima’s more caring side – specifically, when Scorpio was ranked last and Shin-chan would coincidentally have Takao’s lucky item ready for him. Nonetheless, he knew how it easy it was to get caught up in relying on their predictions, so he had set his own limits on how much he wanted to listen to her on a regular basis. After all, he was already a lovesick fool, and there was no need to add “who relies on horoscopes” to that title.

Takao’s Saturday routine normally involved an early wake-up call and a morning jog, after which he would take a quick shower, and then have breakfast while watching TV in the kitchen. On that particular morning, however, his younger sister beat him to the remote, which usually meant watching a drama from a couple of seasons ago and, because he was a good big brother, not telling that the protagonist was secretly related to one of her love interests. He sat down and began eating, but almost choked on his rice when he looked at the TV: the channel wasn't showing a desperate Yoko-chan trying to support her sick father, but instead, a show he was very familiar with.

“Oha-Asa?” Takao asked, after downing some water to help with the rice. “I didn't know you were into it, Kazumi.”

“A friend at school likes it!” his sister replied enthusiastically, not taking her eyes off the screen. “Though she won’t be happy, her sign was pretty low…”

It made sense, really. Oha-Asa was a perfectly normal thing for middle school girls to like and get obsessed over. At least, much more normal than for a tall high school boy student with a serious disposition. Thinking about Midorima sparked his curiosity, and he couldn't help himself. “Have they done Cancer yet?”

“Yeah, they’re fifth,” Kazumi answered. “And the lucky item is sweet sake.”

“Sweet sake?!” Takao snorted. He could imagine Midorima sitting at home watching Oha-Asa, frowning as she told him he needed to get alcohol to carry around all day. Takao was aware of how determined his friend could be when it came to his lucky items, but it was going to be a struggle and he would probably have a sour face about it all day long. Maybe he should stop by and visit him, just to annoy him about it.

“Oh look, nii-chan! You’re first!”

Takao looked back to the TV just in time to hear the announcer finish Virgo and move onto his sign. “Congratulations, Scorpio, you’re first today! Your lucky item is a person born under the Cancer sign. Your lucky color is pink! Make sure you-“

“Nii-chan, do you know anybody who’s a Cancer? Nii-chan? Stop laughing!”

Takao was definitely visiting Shin-chan today.

~o~

 

Somewhere around noon, Takao made is way over to Midorima’s house and rang the bell. He politely waited a minute or two after ringing the bell the first time, since he didn't want to upset Shin-chan’s parents. After the second time he rang, however, it became obvious that no one was coming to the door. While normally that would be enough to get Takao to go home and stop trying, he had seen the curtains obviously flutter after the first ring. He waited a couple more minutes before cheerily bringing out his phone and writing a quick text.

_“Shin-chan, let me in! I’ve come to get my lucky item (*´・ｖ・)!”_

Takao’s cellphone beeped with an answer after a few seconds. _“Go away.”_

_“Don’t be this way. What if I run into some misfortune today cause I don’t have my lucky item? ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ”_

_“You’re ranked first. You will survive.”_

_“What happened to man proposes, God disposes, huh?”_

_“Right now, I’m doing my utmost best to spend a calm, quiet Saturday without annoying distractions. So go away.”_

That last text stung a little, but Takao was not ready to retreat. _“Well, think of it this way. Your lucky item is sweet sake, which is gonna be really hard to get.”_

_“I have my ways.”_

_“But wouldn't it be easier to spend the day with me? Then you’d get all of my good luck by being nearby! ( ˘ ³˘)❤”_ A couple of minutes went by without an answer, so he used his last resort. “Come on, Shin-chan. I have something I want to do today, and I’m gonna need all the luck I can get.”

There was no response to the last message, but Takao hadn’t spent all that time with Midorima in vain. Sure enough, after a couple of minutes, he heard the noise of the locks coming off, and his friend was opening the door, with a frown on his face that clearly wanted to convey how put-upon he felt. “What exactly do you have to do?”

Takao grinned. “It’s a secret.”

“Takao…”

“But I can promise you it’ll be fun!”

“You and I have different ideas of fun.”

“Then I’ll make sure you’re having a good time. In fact, if you aren't having fun by the end of the day, I’ll ride the bike without rock-paper-scissors for a month!”

“You’re going to do that regardless,” Midorima said, but he pushed his glasses up and sighed. “I have two conditions,” he paused, not bothering to acknowledge Takao’s satisfied yell before continuing. “You’re driving us. And you have to wait until I get changed.”

~o~

In spite of being young, Takao could brag about the fact that he’d had a few girlfriends (though he was smart enough not to mention that around Ootsubo). Even though those relationships had never lasted long, he had become familiar with the jittery feeling associated with liking someone. Whenever it started, Takao often felt bold, and a result he always ended up acting reckless, and perhaps it was because girls liked his confidence, or because he had a natural charm – either way, he had always managed to land on his feet. 

When it came to Midorima, Takao had spent a long time frustrated at the defeat he had suffered, and then determined to make him acknowledge him on the court. Those feelings were overwhelmingly present for a long time, even as their growing friendship crept up on him. One day, as they shared lunch on the roof, Takao suddenly had the urge to lean in and lick a piece of rice off Midorima’s lips. The thought had surprised him so much that he stared at Midorima for almost a whole minute, until the other boy had ended up annoyed and snapping at Takao. 

At the time, Takao had constantly questioned if he was truly attracted to Midorima. Now, however, he had to admit to himself that it had to be love – otherwise, how else would he be able to ride a cart carrying a green-haired giant who was wearing a green shirt, a green pair of pants, green shoes, and a green jacket?

“The amusement park?” Midorima asked as Takao pulled into the parking lot, eyeing the really gaudy gates with distaste. “This is where you have to do your mystery task?”

“Yup!” he exclaimed, walking towards the entrance. “Come on, Shin-chan, I invited you so I’ll treat you this time.”

Midorima made a noise with his throat, but he didn't argue back until they were inside. “That wasn't necessary. I could have paid for my own ticket.”

Takao snorted. Of course Midorima would say that after he had already paid. “It’s fine, don’t worry”. Midorima still had that constipated look on his face, so it was time to distract him. “Hey! Look at that! The line for the roller coaster is short!” Almost nonexistent might be a more accurate term for it, but it didn't surprise him. After all, amusement parks weren't that popular during winter.

“What?” Midorima’s eyes went wide, and he resolutely refused to move. “Absolutely not! Didn't you have an urgent task to get to?”

“Come on, Shin-chan, we’re already here. Might as well enjoy ourselves for a bit, right?”

“I don’t see what’s to enjoy.” Midorima crossed his arms, looking exactly like a little kid throwing a tantrum. It was a visual that made Takao struggle not to laugh. “If you insist, I will wait for you down here.”

If he couldn't convince him by normal methods, then Takao knew he had to appeal to his pride. “Don’t tell me you’re scared, Shin-chan”

It worked as expected. Midorima grimaced, obviously annoyed at the implication and too distracted to put up much resistance. “Of course not! I simply don’t want to waste any more time than we have to.”

“Man, we have lots of time!” Without giving him the chance to argue back anymore, Takao grabbed onto Midorima’s arm and pulled him towards the dwindling line. “Don’t worry Shin-chan, if you get scared, you can hold my hand!”

“I told you-!”

One of the benefits of visiting the amusement park in the middle of winter was the fact that you’d never had to wait for hours just to ride the roller coaster, and that day was no different. Cheerily, Takao pulled Midorima along all the way to the front of the car, and gently bumped him in before sitting down himself and lowering the safety jacket. Although he had never been the kind of person who believed in luck, even Takao had to admit that perhaps he would have to thank Oha-Asa for the way the day was going so far. 

Suddenly, the car began moving backwards. “Shin-chan, you’re gonna love this, I promise!”

“Hm.”

“Just wait for it!” Takao said cheerily. The car kept going back, making the platform look small, until it reached a stop. After a second, the front of the car began going up, as if it was a rocket getting ready for lift off. 

“Takao! What…!”

“Isn't it cool, Shin-chan?” the car came to a stop again and slowly began climbing up, as he knew it would. Takao turned to look at his friend, and his eyes shot wide: Midorima did not look good at all. All the color had drained from his face, and even Takao could see how tightly he was grabbing onto the metal parts of the security jacket. “You OK, Shin-chan?”

“Takao, I have changed my mind. I’m getting off.” It was obvious to Takao that Midorima was trying to use his most arrogant tone of voice, but it failed to have its usual effect because of the way it was shaking. “I saw some stairs, so I can just get down that way.”

“Uh, sorry to tell you, but I don’t really think you can.”

Midorima didn't acknowledge him, and instead started helplessly pushing the seat safety, which refused to budge. “As long as I get this thing off, the ride has to stop. Takao, stop just sitting there, and help me!”

There was no way he was going to get that safety off, but Midorima’s calm façade was fading as fast as the cart was moving, and the situation was really getting out of control. Takao reached over and placed his hand over Midorima’s. “Hey! Shin-chan, relax!” 

Midorima finally stopped desperately pushing the safety and turned to look at him, but his eyes were still wide and panicked, and his skin had a worryingly green tint to it that matched his shirt. “Look, it’s OK. Just close your eyes, alright?”

For a couple of seconds, Midorima simply stared as if he was looking through him, making Takao worried that he hadn't heard him at all and would try to push the safety belt off himself again. When they were almost at the drop, however, Midorima finally turned his face back to the front and squeezed his eyes shut. Takao tried to take his hand back, but Midorima just held it tighter against the metal of the safety, trapping his fingers. It was a painful hold, and even though they were rapidly dropping and spinning around, all Takao could focus on was on how much his fingers hurt. Nonetheless, he knew better than to pull them back.

~o~

“I’m seriously, super, 100% sorry, Shin-chan!” Takao said, making sure to stay close to Midorima as they walked out of the ride, because his friend was wobbling and definitely looking dizzy. “If I had known you were afraid-“

As unstable as he was, however, Midorima still managed to give him a cutting sharp look. “I am not afraid!”

“Right, sorry, sorry,” Takao said. On any other occasion he would have teased him, but Midorima’s face was still pale, and his expression full of sheer panic was still very much present in Takao’s mind. “If I had known you didn’t like roller coasters, I wouldn't have dragged you like that.”

“If I recall” Midorima said, heading towards a bench, “I wanted to wait for you down here.”

“Right, you’re right,” Takao tried very hard to ignore the pang of guilt in his stomach, without much success. “Look, why don’t you catch your breath here for a moment, and I’ll go get you some water?” he left before Midorima could answer, quickly heading towards the area with the food stands.

Although more people had arrived since they got to the park, it was still a cold, winter afternoon which was keeping most at home, so Takao had no trouble pushing his way past people who were clearly enjoying a lazy stroll. Perhaps it was for the better as the moment he walked away from Midorima, Takao realized how much he wanted to kick himself for the way the day was going. Oha-Asa’s predictions and lucky item aside, he had never been delusional enough to believe he could possibly set a romantic mood for an outing with Midorima, of all people. Nonetheless, he did think he would have been above making the person he liked throw up!

After a couple minutes of looking, he finally found an open stand. “Hey, can I have a water bottle?” Takao asked as he reached the counter. As soon as he put his eyes up, however, he noticed a small, round, pink bottle on the shelf. “Is that sweet sake?” he blurted out, surprised.

The lady behind the counter frowned at him. “You need to be 20 to buy that.”

Perhaps he could still save the day! “Oh, I know!” Takao said, putting his hands up to appease her. “But my dad is a big fan, and I’d love to get him some.” The lady didn't look impressed. “Still no good?”

“If your DAD wants to have sake, then he can come here and get it by himself.”

Of course, fate could be kind, but it was definitely not going to make it any easier for him. It was time to take a page out of Midorima’s book and do his utmost best. “OK, you’re right; it’s not for my dad, but I really don’t want the drink, either.” 

The lady was still frowning, but she still hadn't interrupted, so Takao knew she was at least considering taking the bait. “Can we strike a deal? Look, how about I buy the sweet sake, you throw out all the alcohol, and I keep the bottle? Would that work?”

The lady behind the counter was not frowning at him anymore, which was a relief, but now she looked confused. “Are you collecting the bottles or something?”

“No, nothing like that” Takao sighed. “Look, have you heard of Oha-Asa?”

The lady’s eyes brightened up as she smiled, and Takao knew he was getting that bottle.

~o~

Midorima was still sitting on the bench when Takao made his way back: his head was lowered and he was looking down, but at least his skin didn’t look sickly pale anymore. A small child, who couldn’t be older than four, was staring at him with interest, and it made Takao grin to imagine that cute little boy drooling all over Shin-chan’s fancy green pants. Of course, he also knew that his friend wouldn’t appreciate that, so Takao went over to sit down next to Midorima in order to serve as a buffer between him and the kid.

“Here you go, Shin-chan” Takao said, putting the water bottle in front of Midorima’s eyes. “Feeling better?”

Midorima glared at him from the side of his glasses, but took the bottle from his hands and drank a sip. “I don’t feel like I might be sick anytime soon, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That’s good to hear!” Takao grinned, knowing that the best way to make his friend’s grumpiness disappear was to counteract it with smiles. “I also got you a surprise.”

“So far, all your surprises have been a problem” Midorima grumbled, but when he turned and saw Takao holding the small, round bottle, his eyes went wide. “How did you get that?”

“I seduced the lady at the food place, obviously!” it was easy to annoy Midorima, whether on purpose or not, and it was something that Takao had always found fun. His friend’s patience was definitely running short so he decided not to push it. “Actually, we lucked out: turns out the lady is a huge Oha-Asa fan. All I had to do was beg her to help me make the Cancer in my life happy, and she was willing to help me!”

“You…” Midorima reached out and grabbed the bottle, but frowned when he had it in his hand. “This is empty.”

“Well, yeah, she still wouldn't sell me alcohol, Shin-chan. I had to make a deal with her! Hopefully just having a bottle that smells of sweet sake will help with your luck, though.”

Midorima might have been listening, but his eyes were focused on the bottle: he moved it around and read the text on the front and on the back. For a moment, Takao was worried the bottle wouldn't fit Shin-chan’s extensive list of requirements for his lucky items: perhaps it was too cheap, maybe there was an actual Oha-Asa-sponsored brand he should have gotten or, most importantly, maybe the actual lucky item was the sake and the bottle was a poor replacement for the alcohol. After a couple of seconds of quiet examination, Midorima opened the bottle, and poured some of his water inside it, before closing it again.

“This will do” he finally said, completely unaware of the scandalized glare an older lady was giving him.

It would have made Takao laugh, had he not been concerned they might get kicked out. It was still hard to bite off his smile. “That’s good to hear! But maybe you should put that in your backpack before someone thinks you’re promoting underage drinking.”

“That’s unnecessary. Besides, I need to have my lucky item as close as possible in order to maximize good luck.”

Hearing Midorima prattle on about the mysterious rules of Oha-Asa made Takao’s chest grow warm. Very few other people could appreciate the moody, superstitious guy in front of him, and it made him smile to think how stupidly fond he felt of him. “Well, I’m glad your luck will get better today, Shin-chan.”

With a smile that made him look like the cat that ate the canary, Midorima stood up. Clearly, all of his previous nausea was gone. “Absolutely. Now, let’s get your secret task done once and for all.” It was amazing how, in spite of what looked like a really good mood, Midorima could still manage to make the word “secret” sound like a distasteful dish he was being forced to eat.

“My… secret task” Takao repeated, giving himself some time. In his hurry to get the water and haggle for the bottle of sweet sake, he had almost forgotten about the lie he told to get his friend to the amusement park in the first place. “Right. Are you sure you don’t want to ride something else? We have the rest of the day.”

“Of course not” answered Midorima with a prideful smile. “I’m done feeling sick for the day. Nonetheless, now that I have my lucky item, I believe whatever activity you have to do will be successful. There’s no sense in delaying it anymore, so let’s move on.” He seemed to notice then that Takao hadn't gotten up from the bench yet, and the smile slipped away and turned into a frown. “If you have nothing else to do, then I’d much rather go back home and do something productive with my time.”

“No, alright, I got it, Shin-chan! Don’t worry, just follow me.” Spending some time with Midorima would be better than spending no time at all, so Takao got up and began guiding him through the amusement park and towards a building in the back, where he knew the arcade games were.

~o~

When the day had first started and Takao realized he had an excuse to spend it with Midorima, he figured out he would need a stable, believable plan of action if he wanted to keep his friend from leaving him. When he told Midorima he had a “secret activity” he needed to complete, he knew he would be picking his friend’s curiosity even if he was too stubborn to admit he was interested. Plus, Takao wasn't entirely lying: although, it wasn't something he had been waiting forever to try, he did have an activity planned for the end of their day.

He had thought his idea was brilliant, but as soon as they arrived at the arcade, Midorima had frowned with distaste. “Video games? Can’t you play these at home?”

“What kind of video games do you think I have at home? Seriously, these might fit in your house, Shin-chan, but we don’t have that much room.”

“You know what I mean!” Midorima was flustered, as he usually was when faced with something popular he wasn't familiar with. “What’s the point of coming all the way over here to play this?”

“For the prizes, of course,” Takao took the opportunity to put his arm around Midorima’s back (he was aiming for the shoulders, but he was unfortunately a few centimeters short for that) and guide him towards the prize exchange booth. “If you win games here, you get tickets. And if you get enough tickets, you can trade them for prizes.”

From the expression Midorima had on his face, which looked like he had just swallowed a lemon, Takao might as well have told him that they needed to jump in the garbage and dig around for yesterday’s lunch. “Trade them” he finally said, before looking over to the prizes. “Wouldn't it be easier to simply buy whatever prize you want?”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“Of course,” his friend rolled his eyes, but Takao knew he had taken the bait by the way Shin-chan’s eyes were running over all the prizes. “And what prize are we trying to get?”

“That’s the spirit, Shin-chan!” Takao exclaimed, although most of his excitement was due to how comfortable Midorima seemed with Takao’s arm around his back. How much further could he push it before he annoyed him? “We’re going for the top prize here – the Wii U!” 

Choosing the prize had also been a calculated choice. Takao was in no need for that game system since he already had one at home and it got a decent amount of use. Having said that, the Wii U had a price tag of 5000 tickets – an impossible amount to reach in a day, considering the machines would give out 20 tickets at most. Just trying to get half of those tickets would take them at least a few hours, and knowing his friend’s competitive nature, Takao was happily expecting some quality time with him.

Of course, Midorima was not going to go down without a fight. “Are you serious?” he frowned, turning towards Takao, who regretfully let his arm fall from his back. “How are we supposed to get 5000 tickets in one afternoon?”

It was hard for Takao not to sigh, since he was already missing the warm feeling under his hand. “I have some already, don’t worry,” Takao was lying, of course, but Midorima didn't need to know that. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you pick the first game?”

Unsurprisingly, Midorima looked as impressed with most of the machines as he would with a cat café, but he began looking around with an upturned nose. For a moment, Takao thought he would have to just pick a game and explain what they had to do, but suddenly his friend started walking, pushing through random crowds of kids, barely bothering to look back to see if Takao was following him. He didn't even notice the way the people around him were watching him go, probably amazed by the tall guy wearing all green clothes.

Finally, Midorima stopped in front of a group of basketball-shooting games and smiled with satisfaction. “We can start with this one.”

Admittedly, Takao had been ready to laugh at whatever Midorima chose, and then spend another ten minutes explaining the game. Choosing the basketball game, however, felt like such an obvious choice for them as a team that he couldn’t help but smile. “Nice choice, Shin-chan” he said, getting some coins out of his pocket.

Instead of standing in front of the game, however, Midorima stepped back five steps away from the game. Takao, who was getting ready to get the game started, frowned in confusion at him, which in turn made Midorima roll his eyes. “Well? You know what you’re supposed to do”.

Understanding hit Takao like a bullet, and it only made him smile wider. Without a word, he started up the game and, as soon as the basketballs came down, began passing them backwards towards Midorima. In the court, they usually only had a couple of seconds to get the right play down: just a moment for Takao to look at the court, to find Midorima, to make a pass that only he would catch. With this game, however, it was different. It wasn't difficult to keep track of both the balls and Midorima, and with no one blocking his passes, the action became almost automatic. 

With his passes never missing their target, and Midorima’s perfect three-pointers, they soon began to rack up the points. Takao could tell they were beginning to get an audience by the way the kids around them were getting louder with every basket that went in. From the corner of his eyes, Takao could see the numbers going up by threes on the point counter, although he couldn't quite see how many points they specifically had. Eventually, the chimes of the last few seconds of the game began ringing, and Midorima banked in one last shot as the fake buzzer rang.

“Woah!!” exclaimed one of the kids surrounding them, “Nii-san, you broke the machine!”

Takao turned to the counter, which could only go up to 99 points – instead of numbers, it was showing two full LED blocks. “Man, Shin-chan, I think he’s right.” After a whir, the machine began to give out tickets.

“Hm,” Midorima was the only one who didn't look impressed with his score. “It was ridiculous to think I’d be limited to 99 points or less.”

“The guy who made the machine probably didn't know the Generation of Miracles,” Takao snorted, trying to hold the tickets in his hand. Soon enough, however, there were too many for him to hold. “This thing sure is giving out a lot…”

The ticket chain overflowed Takao’s hand and began falling on the ground, without the machine showing any signs of stopping. Soon, while the crowd was watching in awe, there were over a hundred tickets piling up on the floor in small mountains of paper covering their feet, and Takao gave up trying to keep them in his hand.

“Whoa,” another kid suddenly said, after a long silent pause. “You really did break the machine.”

“What? No, don’t say that!” Takao exclaimed, and sending a worried look at the very active ticket dispenser. “This isn't broken, it’s just…”

“It’s just giving me the amount of tickets it believes I deserve” Midorima interrupted, with a prideful smirk on his face.

“This is seriously not the time for that, Shin-chan,” Takao frowned, trying to ignore the tickets coming out, the admiring way the kids were looking up at his friend, and whatever Midorima was doing by taking out his phone and typing something into it. It was a challenge. “Could we get in trouble for this?”

“Nonsense, Takao,” Midorima said, moving onto the 3-point Hoop game right next to the one they had definitely broken. “We have done nothing out of the ordinary with the machine, so I see no reason why it might be an issue. If anything, we can use this weakness to our advantage”.

“Wait, what?” the kids were definitely cheering the idea, and were already surrounding Midorima. “We’re playing again?”

“Of course we are,” Midorima rolled his eyes as if Takao had asked to look at his homework. “From what I read, these tickets come in rolls of 2000. We only need to replicate this two more times before we have enough to get your game, plus a couple of extras.”

It wasn't often that Takao found himself speechless, but this time around he knew that even though his mouth was hanging open, he had nothing to say in response to that. His master plan, the one meant to maximize the amount of time he could spend on a fake-date with Midorima, was going up in flames because the two of them were too good at basketball. With one last despairing look towards the still growing mountain of tickets behind him, Takao got up and put in a coin on the next game.

~o~

It took less than one hour for Midorima to successfully break another two games, and for them to give out all the tickets they had inside them. Takao, who did feel somewhat guilty for the way they were getting those tickets, had tried to keep them from getting such high scores; as it turns out, failing on purpose at something you’re really good at is really, really hard. It wasn't long before Shin-chan was leading him, as well as the crowd of kids who were helping them carry all those tickets, to the prizes desk.

The attendants were not as impressed with their ticket count as the kids were, but really had no reason to deny them their prizes, particularly because Takao had definitely seen one of them watching after they finished with the second 3-pointer game. That was how Midorima smugly received the brand new Wii-U and handed it over to Takao and then, with the leftover tickets, began to pick small and seemingly random toys from the shelves (like a purple lucky cat, a banana handkerchief, and a couple of headbands with mouse ears) and carefully putting them in his backpack. It took until the bag was half-full before Takao realized Shin-chan was simply stocking up on possible lucky items. 

Eventually, Midorima seemed satisfied with his purchases (or perhaps, as Takao suspected, had run out of space in his backpack). “Takao, let’s head back.”

Takao, who had been sitting and watching Midorima clean out the prizes, was relieved to hear that. As he was getting up, however, he noticed something and, against his better judgement, decided to mention it. “Hey, you know you still have a ton of tickets left, right?”

“About six hundred, actually,” Midorima was clearly not particularly impressed with the number. After a couple of seconds of deliberation, however, he turned back to his fan club. “You each can have one hundred tickets.”

Takao didn’t know what reaction was stronger: the overjoyed yelling by the kids, or the wrathful glare of the prize desk guys. Either way, he made sure to pull Midorima out of there before they were kicked out. Any intentions to prolong the outing, however, were quickly shot down by Midorima, who explained he needed to get home and categorize his new-found items. Out of ideas and resources, Takao began the journey back home on the bike, with his friend sitting in the cart behind him, as well as the self-reflection of what had to be the shortest date ever.

They were extra delayed because Midorima had chosen to try on the mouse ears headbands on the way home (“They looked small,” Midorima had argued when Takao turned around at a red light and found him wearing one), and Takao had insisted on stopping to take pictures, because while this might have been the worst date ever, he was also not going to miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity. His friend had protested, but had also allowed him to take at least five pictures before pushing him away, so he could definitely be considered to be in a good mood. By the time Takao finally pulled into Midorima’s house, the winter sun had already set and the night was only starting to grow dark.

“Alright, we’re here, Shin-chan,” Takao said, stopping at the door. 

Midorima shuffled out of the cart, and walked up in front of the bike. “I suppose today was not a complete disaster.”

“Yeah, I really am sorry about the roller coaster thing. I swear I didn't know you were scared!”

“I was not scared!” Midorima exclaimed, annoyed. It seemed as though all of his good mood was quickly disappearing. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” Takao laughed. His friend made a sound with the back of his throat, but remained standing there tapping his foot, as if waiting for something. “So, should I put the cart here, or…?”

“Is that all you’re going to say?!” Midorima snapped, taking Takao by surprise, because even by his standards, the outburst seemed to come out of nowhere. Silence was obviously not the answer Midorima was looking for, as he frowned even harder at the lack of answer. “Do you think I’m dumb?”

“Dumb?! What? Not at all, what are you-“

Midorima scoffed and looked away, and for the first time, Takao noticed his cheeks were growing red. Was he really that mad? “You come here with some feeble excuse to take me out, you pay for my ticket, you– “ Midorima seemed to struggle with the words for a moment, but managed to continue “-you hold my hand, and you put your arm around me, but now you pretend to just leave and say nothing…!”

The more Midorima tried to say, the more flustered he became, and it was hard for Takao to follow his argument. Suddenly, the way Midorima was looking away made something click in his head, and his stomach dropped like a rock. “Shin-chan, did you think this was a date?”

He realized it was a mistake as soon as he said it. All the red that was on Midorima’s face quickly drained until he was as pale as he had been after the roller coaster ride. “Excuse me,” he muttered, and tried to run into his house.

“No, wait, stop, hold up a second,” Takao reached out to grab Midorima’s hands and got his wrists instead. Midorima stopped moving, but he still refused to turn his head forward. “Me too! I wanted it to be a date so bad, you have no idea!”

“Obviously I did,” Midorima rolled his eyes, but he finally looked towards him, so Takao counted that as a victory.

“Obviously,” Takao agreed. “But, you know, I already have a Wii U.” His friend didn't react to that, so Takao continued. “I just said that I wanted one so I could spend all afternoon with you”.

For the first time since the conversation started, Midorima frowned with irritation. “You already have one? I wasted a whole hour to get that!”

“Yeah, and most people would have taken days. Figures if anyone is gonna break the games it would be you, Ace-sama.” Flattery finally did the trick, as Midorima relaxed enough to let a small smile grow on his face. Takao knew he had always had a tendency to get in trouble for rushing into things, but when he saw that smile, he couldn't help himself as he leaned over and kissed Midorima.

Takao had never kissed someone who was taller than him, but now that he had to lean on his toes to reach properly, he could sympathize with the girls he had dated before. Clearly Midorima had not been expecting the kiss at all, because Takao could feel him stiffen up under his hands, and the way his lips were just frozen in place. In spite of his shock, he hadn't pushed him away, and that encouraged Takao to push a bit further. He let go of one of Midorima’s wrists and placed his hand on his cheek instead, gently rubbing it. Meanwhile, he deepened the kiss, coaxing Midorima to kiss him back. After a few seconds, he felt the boy in front of him finally relax the smallest bit as he sighed into his mouth. 

Takao was beginning to consider pushing his luck, and his tongue, when Midorima finally decided he had enough: he pulled away from Takao and lightly pushed him away before covering his mouth with the back of his hand. In contrast with the soft push, however, Midorima’s face was bright red once again, and he was frowning profoundly. “Are you insane?! We’re outside!”

“Sorry, Shin-chan! You looked so cute, I couldn't help myself” Midorima seethed at him, but Takao still added, “Next time I’ll do it inside, alright?”

“Just go already!” Midorima snapped.

Takao thought it was probably better not to push any further, but remembered one more thing that had been weighing on his mind. He walked to the cart and got the Wii-U box out, and handed it over to Midorima. “Here you go. Like I said, I already have one”.

Midorima took the box, but he looked at it like he was handling a baby with a stinky diaper. “I don’t play video games, Takao.”

“Then give it to your sister!” Takao said, sitting on the bike. “Tell her it’s a present from her future brother-in-law.”

All the red came back into Midorima’s face with a vengeance. “Takao!”

“Bye, Shin-chan!”

~o~

_“I refuse to give my sister an incomplete present. I will need your help tomorrow to find appropriate games for this game console.”_

_"Shin-chan if u want to ask me out on a date u could just say!! (〃￣ω￣〃ゞ ”_

_“Are you coming or not?”_

_“Sure, but only if u treat for lunch, cause I’m broke.”_

_“Good.  
It’s a date”_

_“!!!”_


End file.
